Electrostatic atomizing device

ABSTRACT

The electrostatic atomizing device includes a discharge electrode, an opposed electrode, and a voltage application device. The voltage application device is configured to apply a voltage between the discharge electrode and the opposed electrode so as to atomizing a liquid supplied to the discharge electrode. The electrostatic atomizing device further includes a reduced water provision device configured to supply reduced water as the above liquid to the discharge electrode.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention is directed to an electrostatic atomizing devicewhich generates a mist of charged minute water particles by causing anelectrostatic atomizing phenomenon.

BACKGROUND ART

In the past, as disclosed in Japanese laid-open patent publication No.2007-167796, there is known an electrostatic atomizing device configuredto atomize water (e.g. tap water) to generate a mist of charged minutewater particles of nanometer size.

The aforementioned mist of charged minute water particles includes aradical such as a hydroxy radical. Such radical possesses an oxidationaction. Therefore, the electrostatic atomizing device is capable ofproducing such as a deodorization effect, a virus and/or mold filtrationeffect, and a virus and/or mold suppression effect.

For example, the above Japanese laid-open patent publication disclosesthe charged minute water particles is attached to and is percolated intoa food product to make a sterilization, a deodorizing, a degradation ofharmful materials, or a moisture retention (in short, a foodpreservation).

Notably, objects (e.g. food products) can be deteriorated by not onlyaction of a bacteria but also oxidization. In particular, to prevent adeterioration caused by oxidization is necessary for preservingfreshness of food products for a long time.

However, the mist of charged minute water particles generated from waterfails to suppress or prevent the deterioration caused by oxidization.That is, the conventional electrostatic atomizing device is incapable ofpreventing oxidization.

DISCLOSURE OF INVENTION

In view of the above insufficiency, the present invention has been aimedto propose an electrostatic atomizing device capable of suppressing andpreventing oxidization.

The electrostatic atomizing device in accordance with the presentinvention includes a discharge electrode and a potential applying means.The potential applying means is configured to apply an electricalpotential to the discharge electrode to atomize a liquid supplied to thedischarge electrode. The electrostatic atomizing device further includesa reduced water providing means configured to supply reduced water asthe liquid to the discharge electrode.

According to this invention, the mist of charged minute water particlesis produced from the reduced water. The mist of charged minute waterparticles produced from the reduced water has a reduction action.Therefore, it is possible to suppress and prevent oxidization of atargeted object (in particular, oxidization caused by an oxidizedradical contained in the mist of charged minute water particles). Thus,the electrostatic atomizing device is capable of suppressing andpreventing a deterioration of the targeted object.

In a preferred embodiment, the reduced water providing means includes awater storage tank configured to store the reduced water and a liquidtransporter configured to transport the reduced water stored in thewater storage tank to the discharge electrode.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to provide a simplifiedstructure of supplying the reduced water to the discharge electrode.

In a preferred embodiment, the reduced water is defined to contain amaterial which has a reduction action and is dissolved or dispersed inthe form of a minute particle in the reduced water. The dischargeelectrode is formed to have at least one part made of the material. Thereduced water providing means is defined by a water providing means, thedischarge electrode, and the potential applying means. The waterproviding means is configured to supply water to the dischargeelectrode. The potential applying means is configured to apply theelectrical potential to the discharge electrode to dissolve the materialfrom the discharge electrode in the water supplied by the waterprovision unit and held by the discharge electrode or to disperse in theform of the minute particle the material from the discharge electrode inthe water supplied by the water provision unit and held by the dischargeelectrode.

According to this embodiment, the reduced water is generated bydissolving the material forming at least one part of the dischargeelectrode in the water supplied to the discharge electrode or bydispersing in the form of the minute particle the material forming atleast one part of the discharge electrode in the water supplied to thedischarge electrode. Therefore, the reduced water need not be prepared.Further, it is possible to provide a simplified structure of supplyingthe reduced water to the discharge electrode.

In addition, the material is preferred to be platinum.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic view illustrating an electrostatic atomizingdevice in accordance with a first embodiment, and

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating an electrostatic atomizingdevice in accordance with a second embodiment.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION First Embodiment

FIG. 1 shows an electrostatic atomizing device 10 which includes adischarge electrode (atomizing electrode) 20, an opposed electrode 30,and a voltage application device (voltage applying means) 40. Theelectrostatic atomizing device 10 further includes a reduced waterprovision device (reduced water providing means) 50 configured to havethe discharge electrode 20 hold reduce water 60.

The discharge electrode 20 is made of metals and is shaped into acylindrical shape (e.g. a circular cylindrical shape). The dischargeelectrode 20 has its front end portion (right end portion, in FIG. 1)which has its inner diameter made smaller towards its front end than atits rear end. The inner diameter at the front end of the dischargeelectrode 20 is selected such that the reduced water 60 outside thefront end of the discharge electrode 20 can be kept in a spherical shapeby its surface tension. In short, the reduced water 60 is prevented fromflowing out from the front end of the discharge electrode 20. Therefore,the reduced water 60 is held at the front end of the discharge electrode20.

In the electrostatic atomizing device 10 of the present embodiment, thedischarge electrode 20 is attached to a reservoir 70. The reservoir 70includes a reservoir body 700, for example. The reservoir body 700 isprovided with a supply conduit 710 on a lower portion of its sidesurface. The supply conduit 710 has its inside communicate to an insideof the reservoir body 700, and the reduced water 60 in the reservoirbody 700 flows outside through the supply conduit 710. The dischargeelectrode 20 is attached at an apex of the supply conduit 710.Therefore, the reduced water 60 in the reservoir body 710 is supplied toan inside of the discharge electrode 20 through the supply conduit 710.

The reduced water provision device 50 includes a tank 500 and acylindrical-shaped liquid transporter 510, and the tank 500 is a waterstorage tank configured to store the reduced water 60. The liquidtransporter 510 is configured to connect the tank 500 to the reservoirbody 700. The liquid transporter 510 acts as water distributing pipe fordistributing the reduced water. Namely, the reduced water 60 stored inthe tank 500 is transported to the reservoir body 700 via the liquidtransporter 510. The reduced water 60 in the reservoir body 700 flowsinto the discharge electrode 20 via the supply conduit 710. As apparentfrom the above, the liquid transporter 510 is configured to transportthe reduced water 60 stored in the tank 500 to the discharge electrode20. The illustrated instance shows the reduced water provision device 50which utilizes gravity to supply the reduced water 60 to the dischargeelectrode 20. However, the reduced water provision device 50 may beconfigured to utilize such as capillarity and a pump to supply thereduced water 60 to the discharge electrode 20.

The voltage application device 40 is configured to apply a voltagebetween the discharge electrode 20 and the opposed electrode 30. Forexample, the voltage application device 40 is a high voltage applicationdevice (high voltage applying means) configured to apply a voltage (e.g.voltage of 5000V) enough to atomize the reduced water 60 between thedischarge electrode 20 and the opposed electrode 30 by use of anelectrical power received from a commercial AC power source. The voltageapplication device 40 can be made by use of well known techniques and nodetailed explanation is deemed necessary. It is noted that the voltageapplication device 40 of the present embodiment is configured to apply anegative potential to the discharge electrode 20 and to apply a groundpotential (0V) to the opposed electrode 30. In the present embodiment,the voltage application device 40 functions as a potential applyingmeans configured to apply an electrical potential to the dischargeelectrode 20 to atomize the liquid supplied to the discharge electrode20. The voltage application device 40 need not apply the groundpotential to the opposed electrode 30. The opposed electrode 30 may begrounded instead of being supplied with the ground potential from thevoltage application device 40. In this case, the voltage applicationdevice 40 is configured to apply an electrical potential to thedischarge electrode 20 only. The opposed electrode 30 can be replaced bya part of a housing (not shown) configured to house the electrostaticatomizing device 10 or a part of a main body (not shown) of aninstrument to which the electrostatic atomizing device 10 is attached.In short, if the part of the housing or the main body is grounded, theelectrostatic atomizing device 10 is not required to involve the opposedelectrode 30. Thus, it is possible to simplify a configuration of theelectrostatic atomizing device 10.

The opposed electrode 30 is opposed to the front end of the dischargeelectrode 20 and is spaced from the discharge electrode 20 by apredetermined distance. A distance between the discharge electrode 20and the opposed electrode 30 is appropriately selected according to ausage pattern of the electrostatic atomizing device 10. Further, theopposed electrode 30 is not required to be opposed to the dischargeelectrode in a strict sense. In brief, the opposed electrode 30 isallowed to be arranged such that the atomization of the reduced water 60held by the discharge electrode 20 is successfully made by applying thevoltage between the discharge electrode 20 and the opposed electrode 30.

In the electrostatic atomizing device 10 of the present embodiment, forthe purpose of generating the mist of charged minute water particles,the voltage application device 40 applies the voltage between thedischarge electrode 20 and the opposed electrode 30 while the dischargeelectrode 20 has the reduced water 60 at its front end. Thereby, aCoulomb force acts on the reduced water 60 because an electric field isimpressed to the reduced water 60 at the front end of the dischargeelectrode 20. The Coulomb force causes the surface of the reduced water60 to bulge locally, thereby forming a Taylor cone. Then, electriccharges become concentrated at a tip of the Taylor cone to increase theelectric field intensity and therefore the Coulomb force, therebyfurther developing the Taylor cone. Energy (repulsion caused byhigh-density charges) which acts on the reduced water 60 at the tip ofthe Taylor cone becomes high as charge density at the tip of the Taylorcone becomes high. Accordingly, upon the charge density at the tip ofthe Taylor cone exceeding a predetermined value, the Coulomb forceexceeds the surface tension of the reduced water 60. Thereby, thereduced water 60 is caused to disintegrate repeatedly (Rayleighdisintegration) to generate a large amount of the mist of charged minutewater particles of nanometer sizes. The mist of charged minute water ischarged positively or negatively.

Water in which a material (hereinafter called “reducing material”, inthe first and second embodiment) having a reduction action is dispersedin the form of a solid, minute particle can be adopted as the reducedwater 60. In addition, water in which the reducing material is dissolvedcan be adopted as the reduced water 60. Herein, the reducing material isnot limited to a material generally referred to as a reductant havingreducing ability by itself. For example, the reducing material can bebroadly defined as a material (e.g. platinum nano-size particle) whichfunctions as a catalyst to quench active oxygen.

In the present embodiment, water in which a platinum minute particle isdispersed is adopted as the reduced water 60. A platinum nano-sizeparticle (e.g. a platinum minute particle of 2 nm size) is adopted asthe platinum minute particle. To electrostatically atomize this reducedwater 60 generates the charged minute water particles of nanometer sizewhich includes the platinum nano-size particle. Preferably, the chargedminute particles include those particles of nanometer size which aredistributed to show a peak in a particle size range of 15 to 30 nm.

Such the charged minute water particle is of nanometer size and isextremely small. Therefore, the charged minute water particles aredelivered far and wide. After the charged minute water particles comeinto contact with a surface of a targeted object (e.g. a food, a skin,and a hair), the charged minute water particles percolate into thetarget object. Therefore, the charged minute water particle can deliverthe platinum nano-size particle to an inside of the targeted object.

Although platinum is not a reductant in a strict sense, it is well knownthat the platinum nano-size particle produces an effect of catalyticallyquenching the active oxygen (that is, the platinum nano-size particleacts as a catalyst to bring about the reduction action). Therefore, onthe surface or in the inside of the targeted object, the platinumnano-size particle functions as the catalyst for reduction. Accordingly,when the water in which the platinum nano-size particles are dispersedis adopted as the reduced water 60, it is possible to prevent thetargeted object from being oxidized. In particular, in the case of thetargeted object being a food, it is possible to prevent not only asurface of the food but also an inside of the food from being oxidized.Thus, the freshness of the food can be preserved.

In the case of the targeted object being a skin and/or hair, theplatinum nano-size particle suppresses the oxidization on a surface ofthe skin and/or hair and/or in an inside of the skin and/or hair. Thatis, the platinum nano-size particle can prevent the skin and hair frombeing deteriorated (aged). Further, the charged minute water particle ofnanometer size containing the platinum nano-size particle goes into aninside of the body via the mouth or nose. In this case, it is possibleto suppress the aging because the platinum nano-size particle suppressesthe oxidization inside the body.

It is noted that the reduced water 60 is not limited to the water inwhich the platinum nano-size particles are dispersed. For example, waterin which a material having the reduction action but platinum isdispersed can be adopted as the reduced water 60. In addition, thereduced water 60 can be selected from such as hydrogen water (activehydrogen water) and ascorbic acid water. It is noted that the hydrogenwater means water containing a large amount of hydrogen.

In the case of the hydrogen water being adopted as the reduced water 60,the hydrogen water may be made by electrolysis of the water stored inthe tank 500. The hydrogen water produced in the tank 500 may betransported to the front end of the discharge electrode 20 by the liquidtransporter 510 and subsequently may be electrostatically atomized.

Namely, the reduced water provision device 50 may include anelectrolysis device (not shown) configured to produce the hydrogen waterby electrolysis of the water stored in the tank 500, in addition to thetank 500 and the liquid transporter 510. According to thisconfiguration, the reduced water 60 can be produced in the tank 500.Therefore, it is not required to preliminarily generate the reducedwater 60 by use of an external device. It is only required to supplywater to the tank 500.

To electrostatically atomizing the hydrogen water and the ascorbic acidwater produces a mist of charged minute hydrogen water particles and amist of charged minute ascorbic acid water particles, respectively. Thehydrogen water and the ascorbic acid water are the reductant bythemselves. Therefore, in the case of the reduced water 60 beingselected from the hydrogen water and the ascorbic acid water, it ispossible to suppress the deterioration caused by the oxidization becausethe reduced water 60 produces the reduction action on the surface or inthe inside of the targeted object.

In the case of the discharge electrode 20 being supplied with waterinstead of the reduced water 60, the voltage applied between thedischarge electrode 20 and the opposed electrode 30 generates a freeradical (e.g. [.H], [.OH], and [.O₂]) in the water at the front end ofthe discharge electrode 20. In this case, an electron (e⁻) is providedto the Taylor cone of the water from the discharge electrode 20 when thevoltage is applied to give a lower potential to the discharge electrode20 than the opposed electrode 30. Therefore, the electron combines with[.H] to produce H₂. As a result. [.OH] and [.O₂] remain in the water.Finally, the electrostatically atomization produces the charged minutewater particle containing active oxygen. This negatively-charged minutewater particle is defined to contain the active oxygen such as [.OH] and[.O₂].

By contrast, the electrostatic atomizing device 10 in accordance withthe present embodiment generates the mist of the charged minute waterparticles containing the material having the reduction action. Further,the reducing material contained in the charged minute water particle hasenough reduction ability to supersede or prevail the oxidation caused bythe oxidized radical of [.OH] and [O₂] contained in the charged minutewater particle. Therefore, the oxidized radical of [.OH] and [.O₂] isprevented from producing the oxidation action, and the reduction actioncaused by the reducing material suppresses the oxidation.

As described in the above, the electrostatic atomizing device 10 of thepresent embodiment includes the discharge electrode 20, the opposedelectrode 30, and the voltage application device 40. The voltageapplication device 40 is configured to apply a voltage between thedischarge electrode 20 and the opposed electrode 30 to atomize a liquidheld by the discharge electrode 20. The electrostatic atomizing device10 further includes the reduced water provision device 50 configured tosupply the reduced water 60 as the liquid to the discharge electrode 20.

According to the electrostatic atomizing device 10, the mist of chargedminute water particles is produced from the reduced water 60. Unlikecharged minute water particle produced from mere water such as tapwater, the charged minute water particle produced from the reduced water60 has the reduction action. Therefore, it is possible to suppress andprevent oxidization of a targeted object (in particular, oxidizationcaused by an oxidized radical contained in the mist of charged minutewater particles). Thus, the electrostatic atomizing device is capable ofsuppressing and preventing a deterioration of the targeted object.

In addition, the reduced water provision device 50 includes the tank 500configured to store the reduced water 60 and the liquid transporter 510configured to transport the reduced water 60 stored in the tank 50 tothe discharge electrode 20. Accordingly, it is possible to provide asimplified structure of supplying the reduced water 60 to the dischargeelectrode 20. In addition, it is possible to generate the charged minutewater particle containing a minute particle having the reduction actionirrespective of a material of the discharge electrode 20.

Further, when the reduced water 60 is water having the reducing materialdispersed therein, the reducing material floats in air in a state ofbeing contained in the tiny charged minute water particle and comes intocontact with the target. The charged minute water particle percolatesinto the targeted object because the charged minute water particle istiny. Further, the charged minute water particle goes into the inside ofthe body via the mouth or nose. After the mist of the charged minutewater particle is evaporated, the reducing material produces thereduction action on the surface or the inside of the targeted object andparticularly suppresses the oxidization caused by the oxidized radicalcontained in the charged minute water particle. Accordingly, it ispossible to suppress and prevent the oxidization of the targeted object.Thus, the deterioration of the oxidization of the targeted object can besuppressed and prevented. Further, in contrast to a situation where thereducing material alone flies and adhere to the target, the reductiondue to the reducing material can be delayed by a time during which thewater (charged minute water particles) is evaporated. Whereby, thereducing material can achieve the reduction only after it adheres andpermeated into the target. Thus, the oxidization can be successfullysuppressed and prevented by the reducing material.

Second Embodiment

As shown in FIG. 2, the electrostatic atomizing device 10A of thepresent embodiment includes the discharge electrode 20A, the opposedelectrode 30A, the voltage application device 40, a housing 80, and acooler 90. Since the voltage application device 40 is the same as thatof the first embodiment 1, the voltage application device 40 isdesignated by the same reference number and no explanation is deemednecessary.

The discharge electrode 20A is shaped into a column shape, for example.The discharge electrode 20A has its outer diameter made smaller towardsits front end than at its rear end. The discharge electrode 20A is madeof the reducing material. For example, the reducing material can beselected from platinum (Pt), zinc (Zn), silver (Ag), and titanium (Ti).

The housing 80 is shaped into a box shape which having its entire firstsurface (upper surface, in FIG. 2) opened. The housing 80 is provided inits second surface (lower surface, in FIG. 2) with a communication hole800 communicating an inside of the housing 80 with an outside of thehousing 80. The discharge electrode 20A has its front end inserted intothe housing 80 via the communication hole 800. The housing 80 isprovided with window holes 810 in its side surface. The window 810 isprovided to the housing 80 for introducing circumambient air into thehousing 80.

The opposed electrode 30A is disposed on the first surface of thehousing 80. The opposed electrode 30A is shaped into a plate shapehaving enough dimensions to cover an opening in the first surface of thehousing 80. Further, the opposed electrode 80 is provided with a sprayhole 300 extending along its thickness direction. The spray hole 300 isdesigned for discharging the charged minute water particles produced inthe housing 80 to the outside of the housing 80.

The cooler 90 is adapted to cool the discharge electrode 20A. The cooler90 is a peltier unit 90 which includes a peltier module 900 and a heatdissipation fin 910 configured to contact with a heater region of thepeltier module 900. The cooler 90 is attached to the second surface ofthe housing 80 such that the peltier module 900 has its cooler regioncontacting with the rear end of the discharge electrode 20A. The cooler90 is driven to cool the discharge electrode such that the temperatureof the discharge electrode 20A becomes not greater than a dew pointtemperature of circumambient air. When the discharge electrode 20A iscooled below the dew point temperature, moisture in the circumambientair is condensed on the surface of the discharge electrode 20A.Therefore, dew is produced on the surface of the discharge electrode20A. That is, the cooler 90 is configured to supply water (dewcondensation water) to the discharge electrode 20A utilizing dewcondensation (surface condensation). As apparent from the above, thecooler 90A functions a water supplying means configured to supply waterto the discharge electrode 20A.

When the relatively high voltage (high voltage) is applied across thedischarge electrode 20A and the opposed electrode 30A, the resultingenergy given by the high voltage is likely to dissolve a part of thedischarge electrode 20A held in contact with the water or separate thesame from the discharge electrode 20A in the form of the minuteparticle. As a result, the water held by the discharge electrode 20A ischanged into the reduced water 60 containing the reducing material. Inaddition, corona discharge brings about separation of a part of thedischarge electrode 20A held in no contact with the water from thedischarge electrode 20A. This minute particle is dispersed into thewater held by the discharge electrode 20A. As a result, the water heldby the discharge electrode 20A is changed into the reduced water 60containing the reducing material.

Namely, in the electrostatic atomizing device 10A, a reduced waterprovision device (reduced water providing means) 50A is defined by thedischarge electrode 20A, the voltage application device 40, and thecooler 90. The reduced water provision device 50A is configured to applya voltage between the discharge electrode 20A and the opposed electrode30A (In other words, the electrical potential applied to the dischargeelectrode 20A) to dissolve or disperse in the form of the minuteparticle the material of the discharge electrode 20A in the watersupplied to the discharge electrode 20A by use of the cooler 90.

In the electrostatic atomizing device 10A, in order to generate thecharged minute water particles, first the cooler 90 is driven to coolthe discharge electrode 20A to generate the dew on the surface of thedischarge electrode 20A. Subsequently, the voltage application device 40is driven to apply the voltage between the discharge electrode 20A andthe opposed electrode 30A. The Taylor cone is formed from the water heldby the discharge electrode 20A when a voltage (high voltage) not lessthan a predetermined voltage is applied between the discharge electrode20A and the opposed electrode 30A. Further, the reducing material isdissolved in the Taylor cone. Alternatively, the reducing material isseparated from the discharge electrode 20A and is dispersed into theTaylor cone in the form of the minute particle. Therefore, the Taylorcone contains the reducing material.

Especially, the resulting energy given by the applied high voltage islikely to dissolve a part of the discharge electrode 20A held in contactwith the water or separate the same from the discharge electrode 20A inthe form of the minute particle. Therefore, the Taylor cone from thereduced water 60 containing the reducing water is produced.

In addition, corona discharge brings about separation of the reducingmaterial composing a part of the discharge electrode 20A held in nocontact with the Taylor cone from the discharge electrode 20A. Thisminute particle is dispersed into the Taylor cone when coming intocontact with the Taylor cone. Therefore, the Taylor cone from thereduced water 60 containing the reducing water is produced.

Accordingly, the charged minute water particle containing the reducingmaterial is produced by electrostatically atomizing this Taylor cone.

As described in the above, according to the electrostatic atomizingdevice 10A, the reduced water 60 is generated by dissolving the materialforming the discharge electrode 20A in the water supplied to thedischarge electrode 20A or by dispersing in the form of the minuteparticle the material forming the discharge electrode 20A in the watersupplied to the discharge electrode 20A. Therefore, the reduced water 60need not be prepared. Further, it is possible to provide a simplifiedstructure of supplying the reduced water 60 to the discharge electrode20A.

Herein, when the discharge electrode 20A is made of platinum, the waterin which the platinum nano-size particle is dispersed is produced as thereduced water 60.

Although the present embodiment exemplifies an instance where the entiredischarge electrode 20A is made of the reducing material, the dischargeelectrode 20A may have at least one part (especially, a surface partcoming into contact with moisture) made of the reducing material. In thepresent embodiment, the water supplying means is the pettier unit 90configured to cool the discharge electrode 20A. However, the watersupplying means may be a water provision device configured to supplywater stored in a water tank to the front end of the discharge electrode20A by use of a transporting means. It is noted that the transportingmeans may be a device utilizing capillarity. In the present embodiment,the pettier unit 90 cools directly the discharge electrode 20A toproduce the dew on the surface of the discharge electrode 20A.Alternatively, the dew may be produced on a surface of a cooling member(not shown) which is provided as separated parts from the dischargeelectrode 20A by use of a cooling means such as the pettier unit 90. Inthis case, the dew generated on the cooling member by dew condensationmay be transported to the discharge electrode 20A by the transportingmeans.

1. An electrostatic atomizing device comprising: a discharge electrode;a potential applying means configured to apply an electrical potentialto said discharge electrode to atomize a liquid supplied to saiddischarge electrode; and a reduced water providing means configured tosupply reduced water as said liquid to said discharge electrode.
 2. Anelectrostatic atomizing device as set forth in claim 1, wherein saidreduced water providing means comprises: a water storage tank configuredto store the reduced water; and a liquid transporter configured totransport the reduced water stored in said water storage tank to saiddischarge electrode.
 3. An electrostatic atomizing device as set forthin claim 1, wherein the reduced water is defined to contain a materialwhich has a reduction action and is dissolved or dispersed in the formof a minute particle in the reduced water, said discharge electrodebeing formed to have at least one part made of said material, saidreduced water providing means being defined by a water providing means,said discharge electrode, and said potential applying means, said waterproviding means being configured to supply water to said dischargeelectrode, and said potential applying means being configured to applythe electrical potential to said discharge electrode to dissolve ordisperse in the form of the minute particle the material of saiddischarge electrode in the water supplied by said water provision unitand supplied to said discharge electrode.
 4. An electrostatic atomizingdevice as set forth in claim 3, wherein said material is platinum.